Deuter AC Lite 20

Review by Rachel Hodges

Monday 13th October 2008

This rucksack is aimed mainly at hikers and mountain bikers, or any users who require an all-round, lightweight day pack. I got hold of it just before heading off to Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the summer with the intention of getting out in the mountains on my mountain bike and on foot.

Deuter, who specialise in making packs and sleeping bags, are quite proud of the light weight of this range of packs, and they have managed to shave a few more grams off this year to bring the AC Lite 20 litre pack down to an impressive 900g.

That said, this pack does not quite fall into the ‘ultra’ lightweight category, aimed at adventure racing (where you can get 20 litre packs that are around the 300g mark) but then it is robust and hard wearing and has all the features that you want to undertake a comfortable day’s adventure. The AC Lite would also work as a multipitch climbing pack for moderate routes, although it is not designed specifically for that purpose.

The RRP is £45 and at that price, it is competitive with other quality brands at this size. The main features that Deuter promote are the 'Aircomfort' mesh back system which is intended to provide comfort and reduce perspiration, and ventilated pads made of bi-laminate foam for ideal carrying comfort and stability. In practice, I found that the back system was extremely comfortable, I was carrying the pack cycling up hill for 2 hours in the heat of the day and I never noticed having a sweaty back – that is quite impressive. I also found that the waist belt was very well moulded and padded, it seemed to be specifically designed to fit me, making it extremely comfortable to wear all day.